Brasserie Zédel

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"Free live music every night in the Brasserie after 10pm."

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Time Out says

3 out of 5 stars

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2 out of 5 stars

Time Out says

3 out of 5 stars

Restaurateurs Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, creators of the Wolseley and the Delaunay, have struck gold with this grand art deco basement brasserie. It’s a huge set-up and attracts a mix of tourists, office types and couples. Affordable French staples are the big draw and set menus start at under a tenner for two courses. In the months after it opened, we’d been impressed by the quality of cooking and on-the-ball service, but recently we’ve detected a dip in standards.

In a meal of hits and misses, highlights included a generous main course of beef bourguignon – meaty chunks simmered in a robust red wine-onion-garlic sauce, accompanied by buttery mash. The haché steak was less impressive, though; instead of chopped meat being shaped and loosely held together, we were presented with a salty, overcooked burger patty. Chocolate profiteroles helped to restore faith – the perfectly baked crisp globes of choux pastry, crammed with splendid whipped vanilla cream, went down a treat with an indulgent chocolate sauce.

The house wine, priced at bargain basement rates, provides great value. Let’s hope the kitchen brigade is back on track soon, and service staff numbers are increased at busy times.

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Brasserie Zédel says

Remarkable value, traditional French food in an astounding, historic Beaux Arts/Art Deco interior in the heart of Piccadilly.

Ate there last night with three friends inc. 2 veggies. Four people, three courses each, wine and kir = £95. Absolutely astoundingly good value, especially for Piccadilly. The food was delicious, especially the onglet. Vegetarian menu wasn't very extensive but the food was well received. And the dining hall... it's gorgeous. Who cares if it's a bit Vegas? It reminded me of Chartier in Paris for the glamour and sheer scale, but the service is London. Polite, attentive and friendly. I'm still getting over how good it was. Go!

We were a party of 8, the service was very good without being intrusive. The food was excellent at very keen prices. We had a good evening in very pleasant surroundings. We would highly recommend this lastest addition to the London scene.

worth it, just for the Wow factor. We ordered Steak Frites (without looking at the menu) and ended up with with a filet and chips... very good, and affordable at c£16. Cheapest wine on menu tasted delicous. I'll be back.

Pretty disappointing experience.
My wife phoned in the day to make a booking but was told that they were fully booked. They said that they keep 50% of the tables for walk ins. We were told if we arrived early, at around 7pm we would get a table no problem. We arrived at 6.45pm and we were told we could have a table at 8pm. So we had some drinks at the bar, eventually we were seated at 8.35pm!
Starters were good. The mains not so good! Four of us ordered the cote de boeuf (so two to share) at £29.25 per person. The portions were too small and there was a lot of inedible fat on both pieces of meat. There was really only enough food for one. No one came to check on us after the mains had been served, so when I explained to the waiter as they cleared mains, that we were unhappy with the meal, he said he would speak to his manager and they would come back to me.
Nobody came over to see us, so I assumed that this would be dealt with at the end of the meal.
Desserts were good as was the coffee and wine.
We asked for the bill, when it came, everything was still on there and still no manager or waiter came to speak to us. I raised the point again and then finally a manager came to talk to us.
The manager that came over was aggressive and obviously did not want to hear any feedback. After arguing for about 5 mins he very reluctantly took one of the beef off the bill.
I really don't understand how someone who works in the service industry can have such an attitude towards customers. If you don't like dealing with people, you are in the wrong industry.
Would not recommend1

I should have guessed before I went (what with it being French and all..) but they are NOT vegetarian-friendly.
My main gripe is that my friend was able to order the 2 course meal deal but, meanwhile, I asked for the vegetarian prix fixe and was informed there wasn't one. EVEN THOUGH they had a veggie starter and main that was identically priced to the meat starter and main course eaten by my friend, when not included in the meal deal! I couldn't fathom it at all but the staff didn't seem to care.

A grand, beautiful venue only tainted by the all too visible bright green lights of geometrically arranged smoke detectors on the Art Deco ceiling, lending it slight note of Dubai on top of a Parisian flair.
Most restaurants I like do great starters and desserts and the main course tends to disappoint a bit. Here, it is the other way around. We had Onglet and Boef Bourguignon with were excellent, esp. for the price (10 pounds). Escargots for starters were disappointing, baked without the shell and in a garlic cover that was too mushy. Salad with Roquefort ok. Ile Flottante for desert was more like marshmallows, cake ok.
Wine good value. Service needs to step up, brought wrong bill and took 15mins to fetch some wine.
In all, would def go again as I like the concept and atmosphere. But not for full-fledged 3 course dinner, but for a quick main and a pichet of burgundy, for which this place is just perfect.

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Having dined here before, we decided to return for the great food & service. We were very disappointed to discover that the portion size of the Bœuf Bourguignon had shrunk to what could otherwise be considered as a very light snack; not a main meal.

Although portion sizes are typically small in London, this was pushing it to new level. I asked the waitress to remove the service charge which she did do, along with an apology for the scant serving. However this did nothing to allay my disappointment. I shall not be returning there again.

A flamboyant and elegant dining room with blindingly low prices may fool your average Piccadilly tourist – but anyone in search of true Parisian cuisine should look elsewhere.
Zedél is the third addition to Corbin and King’s gastronomic dynasty (the brains behind the Wolseley and the Delaunay) and has been a huge success since opening last year. Situated a mere hop, skip and a jump from Piccadilly Circus and housed in the old Regent Palace’s Grill Room – it’s the ultimate destination restaurant for London’s hungry tourists. The place itself is undeniably beautiful; the art-deco interior instantly transports diners back in time with decadent chandeliers, marble pillars and enough gold to make Mr.T jealous. A humongous 250 cover capacity gives the room a certain cruise liner feel – think an overtly French Titanic minus the well-dressed guests. The clientele is (unsurprisingly for it’s location) mixed, tables of suited businessmen are scattered amongst foreign speaking families and young couples. The vibe is relaxed and informal, in stark contrast to the surroundings but in keeping with the prices.
In true Frenchie style, menus are in (yes, you got it) French – if you don’t posses a minimum GSCE qualification then I’d advise quietly asking a waiter to slip you the English version. It’s a nice touch but not the most practical, especially when table reservations are limited to 2 hours and a good two thirds of that time is spent googling French translations. The menu is extensive and packed with brassiere classics from bouef bourgignon to choucroute to escargots – traditional yes, inspiring no. Prices are jaw-droppingly modest; the soup du jour is an astonishing £2.25 and the most expensive dish, the entrecôte is under £20 – low enough to please even the shallowest of pockets. Unfortunately however, I found the prices pretty much reflected the quality of the food. Onion soup should be thick and rich, slow-cooked and comforting – instead I was presented with a half-hearted, overtly beefy and unpleasantly watery broth. The sea bream with olive compote was overcooked and flaky, the duck confit had a promisingly crisp skin but the meat was again, on the dry side. Sides of cabbage and lentils did little else to impress – unseasoned and bland, I began to question if they had a special taste-extracting machine in the kitchen. You know something’s gone wrong in there when the ‘frites’ were the best thing we ordered.
Deserts on the other hand were superb – and looking back I wish I’d ordered 3 courses of puddings. The crème brûlée custard was silky smooth and was encased by a delicate sugar lid, all served at that satisfyingly in-between hot and cold temperature. I could have easily devoured the Tarte Tatin ‘for two’ single handedly, it had a perfectly crisp pastry topped with hot, cinnamon-laced apples and at only £5.50 tasted just that little bit sweeter. They really took ‘saving the best ‘til last’ quite literally.
It seems Zedél have opted for quantity over quality – high volumes of tables, low prices, and quick turnovers, it’s all a numbers game. The standard of the food has thus suffered. For many this won’t matter as the façade of opulent surroundings and meals available at the same price as a Big Mac will l create a seemingly pleasant and affordable experience in London’s swanky west-end. For me however, all the grandeur in the world couldn’t hide unseasoned food. Zedél will no-matter my opinion continue to attract the masses, although it doesn’t offer anything particularly new or exciting I predict it will be left standing long after the faddy restaurants have packed up shop due to a combination of location, reputation and affordability. My advice if you do go? Order lots of deserts!

You get what you pay for and this is not the Wolseley. Brasserie Zedel is reasonably priced for the location and some of the food was alright, but the portions are small and the quality of the dishes varies greatly.
The starter, "concombres a la creme" came in an unadvertised mustard sauce so hot our son (8) gave up after two bites. Later, his steak hache arrived in a pepper sauce, which we'd specifically asked not to get.
The steak hache is chopped beef made into a patty. Good flavour, but it had bones in it! Actual pieces of hard bone. When we mentioned this to the waitress, she just mumbled "Oh. Sorry". Nothing like "I'll mention it to the kitchen" or anything like that. Which means other customers will have the same experience.
For dessert, the profiteroles were good. The Ile Flottante was OK but strangely covered in rock-hard caramel.
Having said this, service is swift and generally efficient. The duck and the rabbit were good although, as mentioned before, came in small portions. I wouldn't go back here. Better to spend a bit more at the Wolseley and be totally happy with the meal.

This is a palace to tackiness. Would be more at home in Dubai or Las Vegas. Some interior designer gone wild & pulled out every possible design detail from the era & created a glitzy pastiche, in total contrast to the simple understated atmosphere of the elegant Wolesley that smacks of the authenticity of a bygone era. Over aggressive dooring policy, we are all over 50 & treated as if we were some tourist backpackers & plenty of waiting staff milling around looking busy, but impossible to summon when needed. Stars are for the food, excellent value, interesting range & affordable wine.

It's the second time I have eaten at Zedel and whilst I enjoyed it the first time, I think the initial opening hype, care and attention to detail has now well and truly worn off!
The true test of an open all day restaurant in terms of service and food qaulity has to be the ability to deliver all day at any time. The time of day to truly test this is at shift handover when the daytime shift are keen to get off home and the night time shift are just beginning, so at 5.30pm whilst the staff were finishing their staff meal at the bar and generally hanging around with no care for what was going on in the restaurant, my daughter and I arrived. We were seated swiftly and given menus and ordered some water, so far so good, but hereafter it all went down hill. The water never arrived and whilst we waited and waited to order, all around were lots and lots of staff, who knows whether they were starting or finishing work, but they were all far too busy to deal with customers.
When we did order the starters arrived quickly - great. But foie gras came with ho accompaniment, no bread. Its pate, who eats pate with nothing? I know the french don't! We were dying for the drinks we had ordered which enticingly sat on the end of the bar in our eyeline for a good ten minutes. Despite the hoards of staff buzzing around, not one made eye contact with us so we sat waiting unable to begin eating our starters. after a rather loud and annoyed excuse me our waitress eventually got us some bread to go with the foie gras and our drinks.
Main courses arrived again in good time, but medium rare Onglet inside perfectly cooked was black, crunchy and coal tasting on the outside, medium rare fillet steak was served med well, my daughter being the embarrassed teenager begged me not to say anything and insisted she would eat it, nevertheless I felt compelled to mention it. Wish I had not bothered, had to literally wave down one of the gaggle of officious, aimless, disinterested senior looking staff, who half heartedly offered a replacementt but we really just wanted to get on with it. Even the French fries which come in frozen and just need to be cooked in good fresh oil, lightly salted and hot, were overcooked to a cardboard state and way over salted.
Our waitress did bother to ask how our meal was on clearing it away, I was honest, but not rude. I told her it was distinctly average. She just nodded!
We paid full price even though we felt cheated and unhappy, I am not one who expects things for free, but I expect someone to be generally bothered if things are not right, at Zedel they are not. By the time we left it was picking up, lots more tables and lots more staff, a shame that none of the staff really give a stuff about your experinece. It would be good value if you got what you expected, but we did not.